Glass cutter



y 1942-- R. c. BARRETT 2,283,134

. GLASS CUTTER Filed Dec. '14, 1939 I Wm Patented May 12, 1942 I AT;

T oerricr crass CUTTER Richard C.- Barrett, Bristol, Conn, assignor of one-half to Robert W. Barrett, Cambridge,

Mass.

Application December 14, 1939, Serial1.-lo.309,122

'3 Claims (c1. 49-52)- This invention relates to improvements in glass cutters and the principal object of the invention is to provide a glass cutter with a hood normally overlying and protecting the cutting member 7 from injury, but removable from normal position to permit unhampered use of the cutter particularly when the cutter is directed by a suitable straight edge or other guide.

Another object of the invention is to provide a glass cutter comprising a handle and a narrow body terminating in a bifurcated acute angled end having a rotary cutter disk mounted therein with a guard normally positioned to protect said cutter, but removable therefrom to a position in which it will permit unhampered use of the cutter and comprising lubricating meansadapted to engage the cutter when the guard is in norsides of the cutter body and pivotally connected thereto and adapted to be swung from normal position to a position in which engagement with a straight edge or other guiding means will be avoided.

These and other objects and features of the I invention will more fully appear from th'e'jollowing description and the accompanying draw- 7 ing and will be particularly pointed out in .the

claims.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is 11- lustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which, I i

Fig. l is a side elevation of a glass cutter provided with a protecting guard for the cutter showing also the position of'the guard member when swung from normal position to permit unobstructed use of the cutter;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the cutter and guard illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the glass cutter and a portion of the handle particularly illustrating the position of the guard member in normal position with an oil saturated member engaging the cutter, and also showing in dotted lines the position of the cutter when removed from normal position to permit use of the cutter; and,

Fig. 4 is a view of the glass cutter and guard illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, showing the guard in retracted position and illustrating the manner in which the cutter is directed by a straight edge or other guide in cutting a'sheet of glass which isillustrated in section. a

The glass cutter. illustrated in the accompanying drawing comprises a metallic :handle mem- 7 her I and an integral relatively narrow head 2 having parallel sides, the handle member having a concave depression 3 in proximity to said head and converging outwardly therefrom and preferably terminating .in a spheroidal end 4 adapted to be used as a hammer to break edge portions of the glass beyond the'line whichis scored by the cutter. The head 2 terminates in a bifurcated acute angled end, A cutter disk 5 havinga sharp periphery is rotatably mounted upon a suitable sliaft fi in the bifurcated end of the 'body with its periphery projecting 'therebeycnd in such manner as to engage and to cut the glass. The head is provided with usual rectangular slots 1, 8, and ,9 of different widths adapted to engage portions of glass of diflerent thickness which extend beyond the cutting line and by angular movement of the handle to break away such projecting portions.

The cutter thus described maybe and is of a usual form. "The present invention comprises means normally protecting the cutter disk from injuryif the cutter should be inadvertently dropped upon a hard surface and also to protect the cutter When'carried in'thepocket. The preferred form of guard illustrated comprises a thin resilient sheet metal hood i9, preferably of semicylindrical form, adapted to overlie and partially to embrace the cutter disk with integral parallel resilient arms It and i2; engaging the flat parallel sides of the body and pivotally connected near their ends to the body at such distance from the end of the body as will permit the guard to be swung from normalposition to a position in which it will not engage the straight edge or other guide for directing the cutter along the pane or plate of glass to be cut, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 4.

- Any suitable means maybe provided for pivotally connecting the guard to *the cutter body. In the preferred construction illustrated-the body is provided with oppositely disposed sockets l3 and the resilient arms i l and I2 of the guard are punched inwardly to provide nibs adapted to'detachably engage the sockets I3 and thereby provide a pivotal connection. The resilience of the arms is such as to hold the nibs in engagement with the sockets and also to cause such frictional engagement between the arms and the sides of the body as to hold the guard in retracted posi-v tion illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3 when the cutter is to be used.

By reason of the detachable connection between the arms of the guard member and the side of the body of the glass cutter, the guard may be easily removed and replaced. Furthermore, the guard member can be readily applied to a usual form of glass cutter by merely punching or drilling indentations inproper locations in the side of the glass cutter, or by drilling through the glass cutter to provide sockets to receive the inwardly extending nibs of said arms.

An arcuate end portion I4 is severed along the lines f5 and I6 from the hood portion In of the guard so that the resilient arcuate end portion M will, when the guard is swung from dotted line position illustrated to normal position shown in full lines, snap over the cutter disk and retain Y pad also provides a cushion which will prevent injury to the edge of the disk when the hood is in cutter-protecting position particularly if the glass cutter is dropped in such manner that the cutter disk would otherwise engage a hard object.

It is usually desirable in cutting a plate or pane of glass to employa straight edge or other guide for accurately directing the cutter along the desired line and it will be noted by reference to Fig. 4 that the side of the cutter is being directed by a straight edge or guide l8 along the pane or plate of glass I9 and that at such time the guard is swung upwardly into such position that it cannot engage the guide or otherwise obstruct the use of the cutting tool. Desirably the arms of the guard are pivotally connected to the head approximately midway of its length so that when the guard is in raised position, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, the end of the guard lies in proximit to the rear end of the cutter, and also in a position in which it may be engaged by the finger of the operator when the finger is positioned in the concave depression 3 which is provided to enable the operator to exert pressure upon the cutter.

It will be understood that the particular embodiment of theinvention disclosed herein is of an illustrative character, and that various changes in form, construction and arrangement of parts may be made within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. A glass cutter comprising a handle and a narrow head having parallel sides and terminating in a bifurcated acute-angled end, a cutter disk rotatably mounted in said bifurcated end with its periphery projecting therebeyond, a guard member for protecting said cutter comprising a semicylindrical hood of thin resilient sheet metal normally fitting over said cutter disk and the end of said head and having integral sides partially severed from the cylindrical portion of the hood to provide a flexible arcuate section adapted to snap over the disk and resilient parallel arms integral with and extending from the sides of said hood frictionally engaging the flat sides of said head, and detachable means pivotally connecting said arms to said head at such distance from the end of said head as will enable a flat side of the head to be directed along a suitable guide without engagement of the guard with the guide.

2. A glass cutter comprising a handle and a narrow head having parallel sides and terminating in a bifurcated acute-angled end, a cutter disk rotatably mounted in said bifurcated end with its periphery projecting therebeyond, a guard member for protecting said cutter comprising a semi-cylindrical hood of thin resilient sheet metal normally fitting over said cutter disk and the end of said head and having integral sides partially severed from the cylindrical portion of the hood to provide a flexible arcuate section adapted to snap over the disk and resilient parallel arms integral with and extending from the sides of said hood frictionally engaging the flat sides of said head, and complementary nibs in said arms and sockets in said head detachably and pivotally connecting said arms to said head at such distance from the endof said head as will enable a flat side of the head to be directed along a suitable guide without engagement of the guard with the guide.

3. A glass cutter comprising a handle and a narrow head having parallel sides and terminating in a bifurcated acute-angled end, a cutter disk rotatably mounted in said bifurcated end with its periphery projecting therebeyond, a guard member for protecting said cutter comprising a semi-cylindrical hood of thin resilient sheet metal normally fitting over said cutter disk and the end of said head and having integral sides partially severed from the cylindrical portion of the hood to provide a flexible arcuate section adapted to snap over the disk and resilient parallel arms integral with andextending from the sides of said'hood frictionally engaging the flat sides of said head, detachable means pivotally connecting 

